After 20 years of hosting the Weekly NewsScope here, that page has become a casualty of transiting Pluto conjoining my Ascendant and Sun at 20 degrees Capricorn. Pluto simplifies. Pluto gets its intensity and power from focusing on the goal like a laser beam. It narrows and streamlines. That is what I have to do. If you are a fan, Michael still posts his Weekly NewsScope every Sunday night at his Neptune Café web site.

Theory-Based Interpretations versus Biography-Based Interpretations

Halloran has been researching and writing biography-based interpretations since 2007 when he started work on the $50 Halloran Aspect Patterns report. Biography-based astrological research must be what Lois Rodden had in mind for the field of astrology when she labored to create 15,000 descriptive biographies for all the famous charts in her AstroDatabank before she finally lost her fight with cancer in June 2003. Having a combination of accurate birthtimes, informative biographies, and an astrological search engine at one's fingertips helps the researcher who is endeavoring to identify what life themes tend to commonly occur with each aspect or pattern.

Too many of the field's interpretations have been created by a writer sitting in an armchair working from theory. Now, however, there is no excuse for doing this since computers have put charts and biographies at our fingertips.

In addition to using biographies to research charts with particular aspect patterns, Halloran has also used them to research aspect interpretation sets for Chiron, the Moon's Nodes, the Black Moon Lilith, the minor square aspects (45d and 135d), and the declination parallel and contraparallel aspects. In each case, Halloran looked to see what was already written and found it useless because it was all derived from theory.

This can be illustrated by interpretations taken from the most expensive natal report available from the Cosmic Patterns software company, the $300 Indra report, where the internet has a sample report generated for Prince Charles.

In the following sections, the names given before the new biography-based interpretations are the famous men who have the aspect the closest. Halloran also read biographies for women and for additional men and wrote separate female interpretations, which are not shown here.

Zodiacal Minor Square Aspects

Mars Sesquiquadrate the Ascendant

You get flashes of energy that can carry you away from your basic
goals and tasks in life. You sometimes find unique solutions for
long standing conflicts and are able to bring about rapid change.
Your ability to stay with a project, quite often surprised others.
Your vitality and temperament have an underlying erratic tone. Life
isn't always easy but it is very exciting. Physical exercise is very
helpful in feeling happy.

With this aspect, you could be contentious and outspoken. You say exactly what you think. You are not afraid to confront. You could have a gift for expressing yourself. You tend to be trim, athletic, and competitive. You might enjoy outdoor activities. You can set an example for others of what the independent male should be like.

MERCURY SEMI-SQUARE YOUR MARS

Your temper flares quickly as your mind becomes easily nervous and
overloaded with data. You experience this as irritation until you
develop the ability to organize your thought process and harness your
enthusiasm and energy to specific projects.

With this aspect, you could start out thin and possibly tall. The aspect gives you energy, endurance, and enthusiasm. You are happiest when you are active. You could be an athlete. You take risks. Training and education will get your energies working along constructive lines, producing a happier, more stable life. You could excel in mechanics, engineering, and business. You could be good at drawing. You are not allergic to work. You tend to be open minded. There is the possibility of many children. Once in a while you could get into a serious fight.

JUPITER SESQUIQUADRATE YOUR PLUTO

You have a very expansive overview and philosophy of life. You are
required to work on yourself in order for your optimistic insights to
manifest in a practical way. Intense self-examination, personal
honesty, and perseverance brings great luck your way.

With this aspect, your involvement with life becomes raw and primal. You explore and experiment with basic forces. There is an increased chance that you will experience the extremes of life, both its highs and its lows. Collaborations work well for you. You could have an athletic or military career. What can sabotage you from realizing the potential of this aspect is involvement with addictive drugs. You need a clear head. Initially you could work to build up your technical competence, but you can go from manipulating technology to manipulating yourself. In the creative worlds of music, art, and science, you could continually experiment, continually reinvent. You learn what works and what doesn't work. You have the toughness and confidence to experience the results of change, whether for good or bad. Your goal is to get to the essence, the unvarnished truth. Your work can be unconventional and influential in your field. You could use the knowledge that you have built up to assist and produce the work of others.

Declination Aspects

Jupiter Contra-Parallel Uranus

High minded ideals prompt you to act without sufficient back up or
forethought, but, still you are lucky and will see a number of your
spontaneous actions come to a great conclusion. Your hunches are
accurate great much of the time and your picture of what life can be
at it best is progressive and uncannily accurate. Still, you need a
good deal of patience and hard work to bring your higher ideals down
to earth.

As a boy, you could have been weak and confused. Your domestic environment may have lacked stability. The greater your insecurity, the more you are motivated to succeed. You will probably be attracted to the challenge of mastering the latest technology. You might be able to see where the future is going, but lack the caution to protect yourself against unforeseen real-world problems. Gradually, however, you will master your field. You are good at soaking up information. You tend to have a vision of the future that causes you to challenge the status quo. This is where you can make your biggest contribution. You can turn to politics as a way to hasten societal advancement and development. You can be good at organizing and building coalitions. You will try to create win-win arrangements in which all parties or groups benefit. You tend to be generous with your money and friendship. If you suffer from anxieties, you could try to deaden them with alcohol. The better solution is to find your life purpose and work at it. Frequent vocations with this aspect include engineer, pilot, musician, politician, psychologist, and actor.

Jupiter Contra-Parallel Pluto

You have a big picture of what life can offer and your long view of
every situation coupled with your nature instinct to be suspicious of
everything that could possibly go wrong allows you to catapult into
prosperity. You have a natural ability to spot opportunity and can
be very avant garde and forward looking.

With this aspect, you can take issue with and work to change the existing order. Your activities can be a thorn in the side of injustice, corruption, and inefficiency. You have a desire to know and understand the world, not so that you can be part of it, but so that you can challenge and fix it. You can speak out on behalf of the truth. You tend to be a dedicated humanitarian. Any system needs to adapt to the needs of the people, not the people to the system. You can be free and nontraditional in your personal dress and behavior. You could write poetry and essays that wake people up. As an artist, you could be avant-garde and minimalist. Here is a quote that you might appreciate, "The only lost cause is one we give up on before we enter the struggle." If you have a dream, pursue it. The most popular vocations with this aspect are politician, writer, pilot, painter, teacher, businessman, and scientist.

Moon Parallel Saturn

A sad undertone to the personality and a distrust of your ability and
what you have coming in life can contribute to a pattern of negative
expectations which can make your life quite difficult, but, these
same ingredients can give you perseverance and strength. As you
learn to translate your cautiousness and shyness into care and
concern for others you have an ever increasing capacity to serve.
Self honesty during those troubling critical moments can make your
life very successful.

You probably have a realistic and disciplined approach to life and work. No weak self-indulgence or immature whining here. This aspect could be reflected in chiseled good looks. One of the things that keeps your nose to the grindstone is that no matter how successful you become, you never feel completely secure. Life feels like a challenge, to which you must prove yourself equal. If and when you feel that your life has become too mechanical, it can help to take a period of time off in order to find your bliss. Your mind does not shrink from considering all possible courses of action, which can make you a tactical genius. The aspect gives a certain tolerance for pain, that can assist in a career as a psychotherapist, computer programmer, soldier, athlete, or engineer. You are not a big risk-taker, so businessman and airplane pilot are at the bottom of this aspect's list of occupations.

Mars Contra-Parallel Uranus

You feel that circumstances dictate quick responses from you and this
means that you often struggle to make your erratic behaviour
constructive rather that abrupt and accident oriented. Correctly
channelled, you are able to create new and unusual ways of completing
your everyday tasks. You can be in a hurry but this can end up
giving you much leisure time.

With this aspect, you tend to be most interested in things and ideas. You were probably an intense and serious kid looking for an exciting field to enter. You hold everyone to a high standard. You can be on the leading edge of your field. You can master new technology. You take chances and show little fear. You like challenges. You can be a talented engineer or mechanic. You are good at designing and inventing. Politically, you are on the side of independence and self-determination. This aspect tends to give long life.

Venus Contra-Parallel Midheaven

Pleasant physical surroundings are an important part of your forward
motion in career. You have a mission in life to create harmony, and
generally you are successful over the long haul. The way others
approach you has a deep effect on how you feel about yourself and
your position in other people's lives.

This aspect seems to focus you on the external world of actions, as opposed to the internal world of the mind. You can be an athlete. You can be politically active. You could like stirring the pot. You could be a good public speaker. The aspect gives you a certain energy and dynamism, that might make you attractive. You will probably be happiest in a relationship when you are able to keep some distance and independence. Keeping your partner at arm's length helps you to relate as fun-loving and independent equals. You could also have a business or career relationship with your partner. With this aspect, you are least likely to become a psychologist and most likely to be a pilot.

Venus Parallel Neptune

An artistic outlook and a compassionate feeling colours your every
thought about life and your relationship to others. You are a
dreamer and an idealist in all things.

This aspect exaggerates your feeling nature. It puts you in touch with your emotions. You can sympathize with the feelings of others. You can help people in need. Humans and their feelings are front and center in your world, mattering more than do things or soulless corporations. The fact that you care keeps you active. You can cultivate a stylish appearance. You can charm the ladies. You can be an enchanting speaker. You can have a flair for drama, which you could express on stage or in a courtroom. You tend to be at the forefront of culture and can enjoy cultural discussions. Be aware that acting from your feelings is not synonymous with discipline or self-control. There is a danger that you will behave like a spendthrift, who ends up in debt or owing back taxes. You could also slip into alcoholism or dementia. Life in the ranks of the military might agree with you. Consider working as a sympathetic psychologist or teacher.

Note that the following declination aspect does not really apply to Prince Charles. As Charles Jayne discovered, programs should use narrower orbs when two planets have extreme declination (23 degrees) because of how slowly the planets move there. When you turn on the Sliding Scale at Customization, Aspect Orbs in AstrolDeluxe, reports will omit a declination aspect that is this wide in this degree region (Pluto at 23N04 and Uranus at 23N39).

Uranus Parallel Pluto

Your basic conflicting urges from deep within your being will rush
forward every so often, causing you to make dramatic changes in your
life. As you get used to letting the need for uniqueness come
forward and express itself, this aspect of your nature stops being so
explosive and just becomes part of the inventiveness that makes you
so fascinating.

This aspect tends to make you a deep person, one who is not a light-weight. You are very competitive and probably do many things well. Life may bring you encounters with its basic, essential facts, some of which can be traumatic and depressing. You could recover from a major injury or illness. You do not hesitate to live life. Your life could have a fast pace in which you do a lot. You are aware of your appearance, which you might cultivate for maximum effect. This aspect does not give you a warm or relaxed personality, so you might want to work on cultivating a sense of humor. You could enjoy sports and business. If you take care of yourself, you can maintain a sharp edge for many years. You might be liable to headaches. Frequently found vocations with this aspect include computer programmer, healer, astrologer, psychologist, lawyer, teacher, businessman, and athlete.

Summary

You can see that the biography-based interpretations are helpful because they provide real-world information and advice. Every sentence comes from something actually observed in the lives of people who have a close version of the aspect. The interpretations predict what to expect and what is most likely to work out.

The above comparison does not consider the major zodiacal aspects between the Sun, Moon and planets out to Pluto, whose interpretations have benefitted from the most attention by astrologers. My biography-based interpretation research until now has focused on less well-known and less used chart points and aspects. Most astrologers acknowledge the declination parallel aspects, but have had their hands full just dealing with what can be seen on a zodiacal chart. That will change once good declination interpretations start being integrated into computerized reports.

Manifesto for a Future Astrology

There is no point in trying to spread or get respect for astrology when it is not based upon research. Delineations not based upon research look as silly as they are lazy. As audiences are exposed to more information, they tend to become more sophisticated. A Western-educated audience finds the claims in Hindu Jyotish astrology program interpretations to be so crude as to be laughable. If astrology wants to appeal to a sophisticated audience, it cannot be based upon hot air. It is possible to get an astrology that is based on substance, but one must be willing to put in the work to create it. The only reliable way to identify common themes is to look at the lives of well-known people who have close versions of the aspect being studied. It can sometimes help to look at people in one's personal charts collection, but generally Lois Rodden has provided in her informative biographies the descriptive clues that one needs in order to synthesize what are an aspect's common themes.

Astrology will always be a combination of art and science. The astrologer is an artist who learns his craft and who then tries to synthesize the elements of a chart into a meaningful picture. If astrologers have done this by theory, it is because the astrologer's memory banks only extend just so far. What is starting to change is that the astrologer can be integrated with a computer. The computer can guide the astrologer to research results so that the astrologer's synthesis is less theoretical and more connected to reality. Many other fields, such as the field of medicine, have already turned to computerized Decision Support Systems. Astrologers who have integrated themselves with knowledgeable software will be more accurate and more in demand. The challenge for programmers is to achieve that augmentation or enhancement in a way that fits the astrologer's needs. There is the issue of knowledge quality and there is the issue of man-machine interface.

I recently read Lois Rodden's mini-biography for NY Tribune science writer John J. O'Neill, who had Saturn parallel Chiron. He closed an article about astrology with the statement, "I feel there is a need in
astrology for more constructive imagination, wider horizons, more vision, more research and more faith in the future than in the past." He is saying that astrologers need to stop looking to tradition and the geniuses of the past and have more confidence in their own ability to collect and analyze data.